


Feel My Chest Beating Like Thunder

by sanssssastark



Category: Julie and The Phantoms (TV 2020)
Genre: F/M, Luke Patterson Loves Julie Molina, Luke being a soft boi, julie molina is a bamf
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-03
Updated: 2020-11-03
Packaged: 2021-03-09 04:15:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,338
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27358624
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sanssssastark/pseuds/sanssssastark
Summary: As soon as Julie hits that first note, Luke’s heart, the one that hasn’t beat in twenty five years, thuds in his chest and sets his entire body tingling and not in that weird way Alex keeps whining about. It’s like the first time you ride a rollercoaster, terror of going over the edge totally overpowered by a need to fall as far and as fast as you can. He felt it back at the studio and on stage at her school and he’s never going to get used to how good she is.
Relationships: Julie Molina/Luke Patterson
Comments: 27
Kudos: 315
Collections: JATP Appreciation Week





	Feel My Chest Beating Like Thunder

**Author's Note:**

> So, apparently it’s Julie and the Phantoms appreciation week and I've been wanting to write some fic for this incredible show, so I figured I’d dip my toe into this challenge with a one shot before I really dive in further with something longer. Today’s prompt is to write about your favorite character. Luke is my favorite character and one of my favorite things about Luke is his total awe in the face of Julie’s talent and then later on Julie herself. To that end, I saw a quick clip the other day from an Instagram live where the actors were discussing the moment Luke knew he was falling for Julie and Charlie said he thought it was during their performance of Finally Free. So, here’s a little missing moment character study of Luke during that three minutes of realization. 
> 
> Anyway, here we go. I hope all you other Fantoms enjoy it! Please leave a comment and kudos if you do!

God, that Carrie girl is such a bitch. She can rock a stage, he’ll give her that, but Luke kind of wants to haunt her now too. Julie might have forgiven him for ditching her to get back at Bobby...Trevor...whatever, but maybe a little haunting for Carrie will earn him some credit for whenever he screws up again, which, given his track record is pretty much a given. 

“If you’re looking for Nick, he didn’t come,” Carrie says. 

Wait, who the hell is Nick and why would Julie care if he was here? Is he...is he her boyfriend? Or...what? Nah, they were probably just friends or something. She would have mentioned a boyfriend. Right? Still, he files the information away for later though. Right now, it’s almost show time.

“That’s not why I’m here,” Julie says, more than capable of defending herself because of course she is. He still wants to haunt the girl though. And what’s with the pink wig anyway? If you’re gonna rock pink hair, you should just dye it. The wig is so lame. And the other girls? They don’t even really sing. What’s the point of them? 

The manager gets out on stage and takes to the mic. “Okay,” he says, checking his clipboard, “and it looks like we’re closing the night out with one more group, Julie and the Fat Ones.”

Luke cringes. Yeah, that one’s on him.

“Really?” Alex asks, in a very superior voice that he definitely shouldn’t be using after whatever it was he just did on that stage with the Candy Cane girls.

“Yeah, man, my handwriting sucks,” he says, but what was he supposed to do? He only had a few seconds to get them on that list before someone would have noticed the pen writing all by itself.

Julie heads toward the stage, but Luke smirks when he sees Carrie’s smile fade. Her superior act is just that, a show, total bullshit. She knows Julie’s better than her and he and boys are gonna go help her prove it.

As soon as Julie hits that first note, Luke’s heart, the one that hasn’t beat in twenty five years, thuds in his chest and sets his entire body tingling and not in that weird way Alex keeps whining about. It’s like the first time you ride a rollercoaster, terror of going over the edge totally overpowered by a need to fall as far and as fast as you can. He felt it back at the studio and on stage at her school and he’s never going to get used to how good she is.

_ Hearts on fire _

_ We're no liars _

_ So we say what we wanna say _

_ I'm awakened _

_ No more faking _

_ So we push all our fears away _

Even if he’s only made of air, he can feel his pulse pounding and the adrenaline that always courses through his veins before a performance speeds through him. That high of knowing you’re about to rock someone off their feet with your music. Julie’s voice is low and strong as she takes her time through the first verse. He knows she feels the same way. They’d written this song together. The first of many if he has his way. He called her a human wrecking ball and he meant it. Her talent was overwhelming, in the best way possible. He wants to ride the waves of every word that spills out of her throat.

_ Don't know if I'll make it 'cause I'm falling under _

_ Close my eyes, and feel my chest beating like thunder _

The beat picks up a bit and he looks to the guys beside him. They’re listening intently, ready for her to take on the bridge. The first time they’d jumped on stage with her at school it had been spur of the moment, but they’d followed without question. 

“You ready, boys?” Luke asks,, a slow grin spreading over his face. Alex twirls a drumstick and touches it to his head in salute. Reggie smiles widely and brings his bass to him, finally able to control it without the thing knocking him over.

Julie’s voice echoes out into the crowd that was still sitting back, waiting, like they know something’s coming, building from every note she fires into the rafters.

_ I wanna fly _

_ Come alive _

_ Watch me shine _

And then bam, they poof out onto the stage and the crowd startles, hesitates and then...jumps out of their seats. They’ve got them and now they’re going to rock them. 

_ I got a spark in me _

_ Hands up if you can see _

_ And you're a part of me _

_ Hands up if you're with me _

_ Now 'til eternity _

_ Hands up if you believe _

_ Been so long, and now we're finally free _

He and boys come in on the chorus as Julie grabs her tambourine, striding to the center of the stage like she owns and and damn, does she. Luke’s fingers rip against the strings of his guitar and the soft vibration of the mic sends his own voice back toward him as they sing together and the crowd’s reaction grows. They’re not just thrilled by their appearance anymore, they’re clapping their hands and bouncing on their feet, people who were sitting at cafe tables are up and dancing and out of the corner of his eye he catches Flynn recording on her phone over that bullshit projector they dragged along. How anyone is fooled, he’ll never understand, but he doesn’t care as Julie slips into the next verse. 

_ We're all bright now _

_ What a sight now _

_ Coming out like we're fireworks _

Luke turns and heads straight for Alex while he pounds out the underlying beat of the music and her voice takes over.

_ Marching on proud _

_ Turn it up loud _

_ 'Cause now we know what we're worth _

He’s so distracted by the sultry notes, that he almost misses his cue. He leaps away from Alex’s riser toward his mic and gets there just in time. Taking a breath, he starts to sing and he can’t help it, his eyes are drawn over to her and that heart that came alive for the first time in more than two decades tonight, skips a beat when he realizes her eyes were waiting for his. 

_ We know we can make it we're not falling under _

_ Close my eyes and feel my chest beating like thunder _

A corner of his mouth lifts when she lets her eyes sparkle at him, something he’d never seen before from any girl, not even when he was alive. How did she do that? Maybe it’s not just ghosts that are real. Maybe magic is too. Maybe Julie’s a witch, the good kind, the kind that brings guys back to life when their dreams are cut short. She looks away as they reach the bridge, but the feeling stays and oh...

_ I wanna fly _

_ Come alive _

_ Watch me shine _

What the hell is that? That’s a new feeling. Brand new. Not ghost new, but...human new. He’d always heard about it, the heart thing and the headrush and the magic, but before now he figured it was just from performing again. That wasn’t it though. This soft, glowing thing he felt in his chest, this was something else and it’s the best thing he’s ever felt. His fingers and voice know what to do and he’s never been more grateful for muscle memory, because his body is on total autopilot now as the glow inside him gives off a sort of warmth, definitely never felt that before, alive or dead. His heart starts beating again and it’s steady and how is this even possible? But he doesn’t care, not really because she’s raising her arms over her head as she hits that high note and something in his stomach swoops and the warmth turns hot. And that’s  _ definitely _ not a thing he’s felt in the last twenty five years or all the time before that. 

_ I got a spark in me _

_ Hands up if you can see _

_ And you're a part of me _

_ Hands up if you're with me _

_ Now 'til eternity _

_ Hands up if you believe _

_ Been so long, and now we're finally free _

And as they reach the end of the chorus, Julie crosses in front of him the tambourine bouncing off her hip and his hand nearly misses the next chord when his fingers flex, wondering if they’d fit perfectly tangled with hers or against the curve of her waist or up to the band holding her wild hair back, he could bury it there and wind the curls around his fingers or...his train of thought gets cut off when Reggie leaps across the stage and shares his mic for the next round of the chorus and his bassist is just enough of a distraction to get himself fully back into the song. The song they came here to play and impress agents and focus, Luke. C’mon man, get it together.

_ I got a spark in me _

_ Hands up if you can see _

_ And you're a part of me _

_ Hands up if you're with me _

_ Now 'til eternity _

_ Hands up if you believe _

_ Been so long, and now we're finally free _

Except he forgot, they’re rehearsed this next bit and as soon as the chorus is done, she turns to him, pulling her mic along and he swivels in place, his eyes going right to hers, letting her pull him in closer. Maybe she is magic. Maybe she’s bewitched him and he’s totally in her power. That’s fine. Completely fine. He surrenders.

_ I got a spark in me _

_ I got a spark in me _

_ And you're a part of me _

_ And you're a part of me _

_ Now 'til eternity _

_ Now 'til eternity _

_ Been so long, and now we're finally free _

Their voices echo each other, not bringing down the energy in the room, just pulling it taught, stringing the crowd along, but Luke is barely aware of them, the only thing that matters is Julie’s little smirk as she offers him the mic, back and forth and the glow is back and the warmth goes hot again and this time it’s raging with the adrenaline and he thinks he might completely combust there on stage. What happens when a ghost combusts? Who knows, but he’s completely ready to find out.

And then she’s gone again and for a second there’s relief, not that he wants it. He’d rather combust. For a half a second almost follows her, but he doesn’t because what he really wants, when he catches a glimpse of Carrie and her Sticky Candy or whatever girls, watching, is for them to see her, fully in the spotlight, owning the crowd, owning him too. ‘Til eternity. He wrote that line and he hadn’t even really thought about it, but he meant it. Really meant it. Shit, he’s in so much trouble. Good trouble.

_ I got a spark in me  _

_ Hands up if you can see _

_ And you're a part of me _

_ Hands up if you're with me _

_ Now 'til eternity _

_ Hands up if you believe _

_ Been so long, and now we're finally free _

Julie breaks away toward the end of the chorus and belts out a, “Yeah!” One of his knees buckles and why not just go with it? He turns to the crowd and drops down to his knees, like they all should be, rocking out to her beautifully controlled riff that echoes what he’s doing on his guitar. Even now they’re in sync. She’s perfect. They’re perfect.

_ I got a spark in me _

_ Hands up if you can see _

_ And you're a part of me _

_ Hands up if you're with me _

_ Now 'til eternity _

_ Hands up if you believe _

_ Been so long, and now we're finally free _

Luke draws back after the last two lines and gives her the stage as they end the song, letting her bring it home with that sweet voice of hers, another perfect riff and then it’s over and the crowd bursts into a roar that fills the café. 

_ Finally free _

_ Yeah _

Then with a bow they poof out, though, he does linger for a second off to the side, watching Julie take one more look over the crowd before she says, “Thank you! We’re Julie and the Phantoms. Tell your friends!”

“She got that from me,” Reggie says, from beside him, just as they poof back toward the bar where Julie’s rushed off to hug Flynn.

“You were incredible,” Flynn says and Julie hugs her tight.

Luke’s fingers twitch again and grab the edge of the bar he’s sitting on, making sure his smile doesn’t waver at all. She was incredible and he wants to make sure she knows he thinks it too. He tries to catch her eye, but then over her shoulder he sees Carrie and the Rock Candies talking to some woman who neatly extricates herself and heads in their direction.

“Hey, hey, whoever Carrie was trying to impress is coming this way!” He wants to jump down and stand next to Julie, maybe sling an arm around her shoulder, or grasp her hand and weave his fingers through hers. He wants to stand with her, beside her. Always.

And that warmth is back and they’re not even on stage. That means, he probably...he...he might just lov—

That thought is cut off, thank God and he tries to focus, but then just as the woman introduces herself, he then sees someone else over her shoulder.

Ray.

Julie’s dad is here and they're in trouble or she is and not the good kind.

He wants to stand with her, beside her, for this too, support her, defend her, or even just take some of the blame, but Alex and Reggie grab his arms. There’s nothing he can do. Not right now, but later, he’ll be there. He needs her. She makes him better. And he thinks, maybe, that he makes her better too.

  
  



End file.
